Buchenwald survivors see Obama as family (because great-uncle helped liberate subcamp)

[gauguin57]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/06/04/obama.pre.visit/index.html

Buchenwald survivors see Obama as family

By Frederik Pleitgen
CNN

"... U.S. troops saw the horror of the Nazi regime first hand when they came through this gate on April 11, 1945, and found camp inmates starved to the bone, many too weak to stand.

" 'We couldn't even show our joy at this moment, which we had been waiting for so long,' said former inmate Zeev Factor, recalling the day American troops came to liberate the camp.

"Now the camp is getting ready to host President Obama, who has a special relationship with Buchenwald. His great-uncle Charlie Payne, 84, helped liberate a sub-camp here when he was an infantryman fighting in World War II.

" 'The survivors see President Obama almost like a grandson of theirs,' said the director of the Buchenwald memorial, Volker Knigge, speaking just outside the font gate. ..."

[LittleBlue]

1. I love him during this trip

I really do. He is at his best in the international arena. Every story from this trip has made me smile.

So proud to have him instead of an insane wingnut like McCain.

[AtomicKitten]

2. This visit punctuated the powerful statement he made in Cairo.

:patriot:

[vaberella]

3. Powerful statements. Good Pres. n/t

[KT2000]

4. This is why I am still excited

that he is our president.
So much of what he does and the way people react to him, brings out our better nature.

Also - remember when Obama honored his great-uncle when he spoke at the convention? That was a touching moment too.

[CTyankee]

24. Remember the wingnuts who proclaimed that O's great uncle hadn't "really" liberated Buchenwald?

They nitpicked that it was a subcamp. Looking at these photos today reminds me of how small our President's attackers are, what little ants they are (no offense to ants).

[Beacool]

5. This is what Obama's uncle had to say about his visit to Buchenwald

Obama's Great-Uncle Says President Visiting Concentration Camp Site for 'Political Reasons'

FOXNews.com
Monday, June 01, 2009

President Obama's scheduled visit to a former Nazi concentration camp is being done for "political reasons," the president's great-uncle -- who helped liberate that camp -- said in a recent interview.

Obama plans to visit Germany's Buchenwald site as part of his multi-country tour, which begins this week.

Charles Payne, Obama's great-uncle who helped liberate a sub-camp of Buchenwald during World War II, spoke frankly about the visit in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.

Asked if Obama would be traveling in his footsteps, Payne said: "I don't buy that. ... This is a trip that he chose, not because of me I'm sure, but for political reasons."

He said Obama also might be trying to improve his "standing" with Chancellor Angela Merkel, since "she gave him a hard time during his campaign and also afterwards."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/01/obamas-great-uncle-says-president-visiting-concentration-camp-site-political/?test=latestnews

I saw him being interviewed and was surprised that he felt that way.

:(

[EquallyExhausted]

6. pretty much every trip the president makes is "for political reasons"

i read the entire interview with his great uncle and it didn't come across as mean spirited, just a frank statement of reality. he struck me as an elderly man who wasn't concerned with speaking in a politically artful way. not surprised that fox news saw it differently though.

[Beacool]

12. It wasn't their interpretation.

I saw the interview, it came out of his own mouth. I'm always switching channels, so I didn't recall who carried the interview and had to Google it.

But I agree with you, everything a president does is political.

[AtomicKitten]

7. Oh look. Beacool resorts to Faux News to find that turd in the punch bowl. n/t

[leftynyc]

8. Do you think the uncle

is being misquoted? Got another source that says something different?

[AtomicKitten]

9. not the point n/t

[leftynyc]

18. No shit (eom)

[Beacool]

11. Nope.

I heard him with my two little ears and it did surprise me at the time that he would say that it was "political". In some respects, I think that Obama chose Buchenwald to honor him. I didn't remember on which channel though, so I had to Google it.

[Beacool]

10. Oh look, Kitten is snarky as usual.

Touche, my dear kitty, touche.....

;-)

[AtomicKitten]

13. The flipside of your continued concerted effort to demean the president.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8452806

[Beacool]

14. Honey, you continue to undermine the SOS at every turn.

:shrug:

[AtomicKitten]

15. Who mentioned the SoS? Nobody in this thread, except you which is telling

and the basis for your continued campaign to undermine the president. Only you, your ilk, and the wingnuts ferret out the very worst take on current events, and you have no shame in dipping into the well frequented by Drudge, Limbaugh, and Faux News to that end.

[Beacool]

17. Whose talking about this thread?

Come on, don't be disingenous........

:eyes:

[Forkboy]

23. Now there's an ironic post.

[Beacool]

27. Meant to say "who is"............

:blush:

[Tarheel_Dem]

25. You'll remember that Fox became their "source for news" during the primaries.

Ed Rendell went so far as to label them the most fair & balanced. But using FNC, as a trusted & unbiased news outlet, on this site, is laughable, but not surprising, considering the source.:rofl:

[Beacool]

28. Go into the provided link and read the Spiegel interview for yourself.

:shrug:

[Tarheel_Dem]

29. I have no interest in clicking on a link provided by you. But thanks anyway.

:eyes:

[Beacool]

30. Well, then don't dispute the source if you can't be bothered to click on a link.

:shrug:

[cali]

36. This isn't about the President's subordinates. It's about the President. n/t

[Zomby Woof]

19. And Der Spiegel

Is a tabloid joke. Always has been - it's a cross between Time and the Weekly World News.

[Beacool]

20. Then it's the German National Enquirer?

:7

[Flying Dream Blues]

22. Yes, big, BIG surprise. nt

[CakeGrrl]

31. Exactly.

And of course, she complains in a pro-Hillary thread about people coming over to dump all over her happy times over there, so this is apparently tit-for-tat:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8452681&mesg_id=8452894

:eyes:

On and on it goes.

[blm]

32. No way....she hates how people post negative comments on threads...good thing I only do it when

it pertains to those who betrayed our party and nation as they sided with Bush.

I wouldn't THINK of doing it for any other reason.

[AllentownJake]

16. The guy doesn't like attention

His Uncle, very uncomfortable with it. He had some problems after the war and he doesn't like the media attention to his life.

He loves his grand nephew but to him, this a giant pain in the butt.

[Beacool]

21. Maybe thats the reason he made those remarks.

Otherwise, I would have thought that he would be pleased to see his nephew go there to pay his respects.

;)

[ClarkUSA]

35. Now, now, don't be sad... it's not as if Pres. Obama is a smarmy, triangulating Dick Morris protegé.

Nothing could be that bad. Been there, done that. :puke:

His great-uncle is pleased as punch to go to Normandy "for political reasons" tomorrow. So are the other WWII D-Day veterans from the U.S. who will be joining him. As for the decision to go to Buchenwald, it's a historical first and Elie Weisel made it very special when he applauded President Barack Obama's "moral vision". He sure couldn't say that about some previous presidents, eh, morality being a such a rare virtue. :(

[Tarheel_Dem]

26. Only 4 Recs? Great article. (nt)

:kick:

[phoenixriz]

33. Original Spiegal article with Obama's great uncle

This is an excellent interview with Obama's great-uncle. He answered questions about his entire WWII experience which is very interesting. I remember reading when he came back from the war he went straight to the attic and didn't come down for 6 months. He is not the type of person who would bring attention to himself. He led a quiet life, never married and in many ways is like my uncle who survived WWII.


<http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,626703,00.html>

[Tarheel_Dem]

34. Thank you. (nt)

[Number23]

37. I just rec'd it in honor of Beacool.

:patriot:

[Tarheel_Dem]

38. Thank You, on behalf of Beacool.

:patriot: